I am getting ready to replace my front and rear brakes. I have disc on the front and shoes on the rear. I am looking at autozones brake parts and they have ceramic and metal pads. Is one better than another. Why should I pay more for ceramic?

Help me choose? Has anyone ever used the pads from Autozone? If so, what did you get and how do you like it?

Thanks for the great help I get here. This site is a wealth of knowledge and full of great people.

Bowdog

 

I get My brakes at Pet-Boys.
I get the cheapest ones they have.
The ceramic pads leave less dust but they don't stop as well!

 

I went to AdvanceAuto and got the Bendix brand. They are a step above the "Gold" series that most part stores stock. They are a little noisy for the first week until they get broken in, but after that they are quiet and stop great.

 

I just did pads and rotors up front on my 97 yesterday. I went with Raybestos semi metallic pads and there premium rotors.

If you plan on doing the rotors up front really soak the crevices where the hub and wheel studs are. That's only if it's a 4x4 like mine is. Almost had to take the sawzall to the passenger side.

 

IMO it pays to shop around. That being said, these days when it comes to brake pads & shoes you also seldom get what you pay for. I call at least 4 of the major suppliers in my area, make sure to ask about their range of options & take notes. This has added value b/c low inventory levels often mean I'll need to visit more than 1 store anyway & can end up saving substantially. I'm also happy to make Price Matching/Beating policies stick.

In other words the same item may very well be much less at another store, one store's name brand item may actually be cheaper than another's Brand X & the name brand may very well be just another el cheapo import in a familiar looking box. The upshot is that there is often no rhyme or reason to parts pricing.

I used to swear by name brands & was proud to pay twice the price. That is until I had some poor performance brake pads & discovered cheap Brand X often had lifetime warranty, worked at least as well & the discount parts store was happy to replace them for free.

 

I have used the Autozone Duralast Golds..and havent had any real problems with them. Some people i know have used them with good success also.
Plus they have lifetime warranty.

 

Over the past 8 to 10 yeers I have used a lot of AZ Pads etc and for the most part they were OK. Only remember losing one set to fpoor quality, pad seperated from metal backing plate.

For my last job on my 97 F150 5.4 2x4 excab I used Motorcraft pads and rotors from Rock Auto. Good price, good delivery and they are to date running very fine. I also replaced all pads and rotors on my 97 TownCar at the same time and am very satisfied.

 

Ditto, plus the new ones don't give off hardly any brakes dust. Autozone won't argue and fuss with you if your not happy, they'll satisfy you.

Tim

 

Yeah ive also noticed that they dont give off much dust also.. except on my moms Escape. Which they might of just been a bad pair, im going to return them this weekend because of the dust and they are squeling pretty bad.

Not to go too far , but those Escapes/Mariner have damn good brakes, even with drums in the rear. I know i have surprised some people who thought a SUV couldnt stop quick. I wish my truck could stop like it can.

 

Advance Auto....Wearever Silver pads and rotors on my truck since 2005. No squeaks, no vibration and the truck still stops when I want it to. Skip the fancy stuff.